Roger Ebert's Best of the Decade

As I've mentioned, I don't always agree with Mr. Ebert, but his wealth of knowledge and movie buffery is astounding to me. Also the fact that a person could become famous for said knowledge is pretty amazing, so I respect him. Here's his best of the aughts:

1. Synecdoche, New York
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Monster
4. Juno
5. Me & You & Everyone We Know
6. Chop Shop
7. The Son
8. The 25th Hour
9. Almost Famous
10. My Winnipeg

runners-up:

• Adaptation
• Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
• City of God
• Crash
• Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2
• Minority Report
• No Country for Old Men
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Silent Light
• Waking Life

Surprised Crash didn't make the top ten, since he was so famously behind the movie and interval to it's eventual (and wrong-headed) best picture win-- perhaps he viewed the film again, feeling the necessity to denote it to runner-up status.

I'm working on my best of the decade serious...so stay tuned...hopefully I will have it completed before the next decade....

Phoenix Film Critics Society

PICTURE
Inglourious Basterds

Top 10 of 2009 (alphabetical order)

• Avatar
• District 9
• (500) Days of Summer
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• Sherlock Holmes
• Star Trek
• Up
• Up in the Air

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air
ACTRESS: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
ENSEMBLE: Inglourious Basterds
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Up
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Up in the Air
ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
FOREIGN FILM: Broken Embraces
DOCUMENTARY: Capitalism: A Love Story
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Avatar
ART DIRECTION: Avatar
COSTUME DESIGN: The Young Victoria
FILM EDITING: Avatar
ORIGINAL SCORE: Up
ORIGINAL SONG: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar
STUNTS: Star Trek
BREAKOUT ON CAMERA: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
BREAKOUT BEHIND THE CAMERA: Neil Blomkamp, District 9
LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
OVERLOOKED FILM: Moon
YOUTH IN FILM: Jae Head, The Blind Side; Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

St. Louis Film Critics Society

PICTURE: Up in the Air
runner-up: The Hurt Locker

DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
runners-up: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air; Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air
runner-up: Patton Oswalt, Big Fan

ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
runner-up: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
runner-up: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
runner-up: Marion Cotillard, Nine

SCREENPLAY: (500) Days of Summer- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
runner-up: Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

FOREIGN FILM: Red Cliff
runner-up: Treeless Mountain

ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

DOCUMENTARY: Capitalism: A Love Story
runner-up: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Nine- Dion Beebe
runner-up: A Single Man- Eduard Grau

MUSIC: Nine
runner-up: Crazy Heart

VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar
runner-up: Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY: The Hangover
runner-up: (500) Days of Summer

MOST ORIGINAL FILM: Avatar
runners-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox; (500) Days of Summer

FAVORITE SCENE: Up- opening montage
runner-up: Inglourious Basterds- opening farmhouse scene

Chicago Film Critics Assocation

PICTURE: The Hurt Locker
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
ACTOR: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Hurt Locker- Mark Boal
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
FOREIGN FILM: The White Ribbon
ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
DOCUMENTARY: Anvil! The Story of Anvil
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Hurt Locker- Barry Aykroyd
SCORE: Up- Michael Giacchino
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Carey Mulligan, An Education
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER: Neil Blomkamp, District 9

Flordia Film Critics

PICTURE: Up in the Air
DIRECTOR: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air
ACTRESS: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: (500) Days of Summer- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
FOREIGN FILM: Sin Nombre
ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Avatar- Mauro Fiore
BREAKOUT PERFORMER: Gabourey Sibide, Precious

Golden Satellites Winners

BEST PICTURE (Drama)
The Hurt Locker

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)
Nine

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR (Drama)
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)
Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Stoning of Soraya M.

BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Precious- Geoffrey Fletcher

BEST PICTURE (Mixed Media)
Fantastic Mr. Fox

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Maid

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Every Little Step

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Up in the Air- Rolfe Kent

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart; Ryan Bingham

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nine- Dion Beebe

BEST FILM EDITING
The Hurt Locker

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
A Single Man

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

BEST SOUND
2012

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
2012

Top Ten

Roger Ebert's ten favorites of 2009 follow. Love him or hate him is the most prolific film critic in the world, and the his opinion and knowledge of the film medium counts. Rather than a traditional list he has divided it up, sharing the love:

TOP TEN MAINSTREAM FILMS:

• Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
• Crazy Heart
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Knowing
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Up in the Air
• The White Ribbon

Special Jury Prize: Avatar

TOP TEN INDEPENDENT FILM:

• Departures
• Disgrace
• Everlasting Moments
• Goodbye Solo
• Julia
• Silent Night
• Sin Nombre
• Skin
• Trucker
• You, The Living
  

Top Tens (New York Edition)

A collection of NY based film critics top film picks of 2009:

A.O. SCOTT (The New York Times)

1. Where the Wild Things Are
2. The Hurt Locker \ In the Loop
3. Summer Hours \ Of Time & City
4. Up in the Air \ Funny People
5. Bright Star \ Medicine for Melancholy
6. Precious \ Coraline
7. Avatar \ District 9
8. A Serious Man \ Anvil! The Story of Anvil
9. Goodbye, Solo \ Sugar
10. Gomirrah \ The Baader Meinoff Complex

Sneaky New Yorker putting 19 films on a 10 best list, I suppose there's a comparative relation to the films listed, but perhaps only Mr. Scott knows what they are.

MANOHLA DARGIS (The New York Times)
(unranked)

• Gomorrah
• Tulpan
• The Hurt Locker
• The Beaches of Agnes
• Public Enemies
• Beeswax
• Ponyo
• The Informant!
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Sun
• Avatar

STEPHEN HOLDEN (The New York Times)

1. Up in the Air
2. The White Ribbon
3. Still Walking
4. The Messenger
5. 35 Shots of Rum
6. The Hurt Locker
7. The Headless Woman
8. An Education
9. Summer Hours
10. Disgrace

LISA SCHWARTBAUM (Entertainment Weekly

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up
3. Coraline
4. Up in the Air
5. Where the Wild Things Are
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
7. A Serious Man
8. Big Fan
9. District 9
10. Everlasting Moments

OWEN GLIEBERMAN (Entertainment Weekly)

1. Up in the Air
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
4. I Love You, Man
5. Food, Inc.
6. (500) Days of Summer
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. The Girlfriend Experience
9. The Hurt Locker
10. Adventureland
    

Utah Film Critcs

PICTURE: Up in the Air
DIRECTOR: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
ACTOR: Viggo Mortensen, The Road
ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian McKay, Me & Orson Welles
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: Fantastic Mr. Fox- Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach
ANIMATED FEATURE: Fantastic Mr. Fox
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove
FOREIGN FILM: Thirst

Detroit Film Critics

PICTURE: Up
DIRECTOR: Pete Docter, Up
ACTOR: Colin Firth, A Single Man
ACTRESS: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
ENSEMBLE: The Hangover
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Houston Film Critics

PICTURE: The Hurt Locker
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air
ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
SCREENPLAY: Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove
FOREIGN FILM: Sin Nombre
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Hurt Locker- Barry Aykroyd
SCORE: Up- Michael Giacchino
SONG: "Petey's Song," The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Las Vegas Film Critics Society

PICTURE: The Hurt Locker
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
ACTOR: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
ACTRESS: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: (500) Days of Summer- Scott Neustradter & Michael H. Weber
ANIMATED FEATURE: Fantastic Mr. Fox
FOREIGN FILM: Red Cliff
DOCUMENTARY: Anvil! The Story of Anvil
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Hurt Locker- Barry Ackroyd
COSTUME DESIGN: Inglourious Basterds- Anna B. Shepherd
FILM EDITING: The Hurt Locker- Bob Murawski
ART DIRECTION: Avatar
SCORE: Star Trek- Michael Giacchino
SONG: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
VISUAL EFFECTS: Star Trek
FAMILY FILM: Fantastic Mr. Fox
YOUTH IN FILM: Saorsie Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Screen Actors Guild Nominations

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Nine
• Precious

Insane that Up in the Air was snubbed here considering it's the frontrunner and the SAG Awards long ago gave up on being true to it's "Best Ensemble" meaning, not that Up in the Air doesn't have a lovely ensemble cast, it does, it's just also a star vehicle. So on that end, good for them I guess, even though the props for An Education seem an unreasonable snub in comparison. The rest make perfect sense and were easily predicted. Except for that shocker, I was 4\5 here-- not bad considering SAG many times makes crazy\ridiculous choices, and the fact that the awards themselves are still reletively new, it's harder to gauge historically.

BEST ACTOR

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

I predicted this 5\5, yay me...but it was a cinch really since I doubted very highly Tobey Maguire would factor in at all after his Globe nomination, and sadly neither would my favorites Joseph Gordon Levitt (500 Days of Summer) or Sharlto Copley (District 9.)

BEST ACTRESS

• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Again 5\5 here; I'm on a roll; I fully expect barring some major shift over the next month or so that both leading actor and leading actress will look the same come Oscar time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Again very predictable, with really Matt Damon being my only surprise (even with the Globe nomination), I was expecting Alfred Molina (An Education) to come back here, especially since that film did pretty well with SAG...I guess no one really dug that performance, which is fine with me...I also might have thought that Christian McKay might have a shot with Me & Orson Welles. Not totally convinced this is your Oscar line-up-- I still think Damon might be vulnerable; the other four I think are solid.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
• Mo'Nique, Precious

The only other shock this morning as from Up in the Air in the top award, is the craziness of Diane Kruger here-- where did that come from? The Inglourious crew seemed to have only one acting shot (Waltz), and possible longshot (Melanie Laurant)-- oh you crazy actors, did you guys confuse the foreign girls here! The rest are predictable, and aside from the shock of Kruger, I stil expect Julianne Moore (A Single Man) to take to fifth spot come Oscar morning.

Best Original Song Finalists

Here the finalists competing for the Best Original Song Oscar. I'm still pissed at the Academy's music branch for ignoring Bruce Springsteen's amazing song from The Wrestler last year, it was perfect for the movie and an all kick ass song. Also the elimination of Jonny Greenwood's haunting and revelatory score for There Will Be Blood still burns. Anyway, here's the list-- I've tried to include links to ones I could find. Enjoy:

• "All is Love," Where the Wild Things Are
• "Almost Over You," My One & Only
• "Almost There," The Princess & the Frog
• "AyAyAyAy," The Maid
• "Back to Tennessee," Hannah Montana: The Movie
• "Being Bad," Duplicity
• "Blanco," Fast & Furious
• "Brothers in Arms," Brothers at War
• "Butterfly Fly Away," Hannah Montana: The Movie
• "Cinema Italiano," Nine
• "Colorblind," Invictus
• "Depression Era," That Evening Sun
• "Don't Walk Away," Hannah Montana: The Movie
• "Dove of Peace," Bruno
• "Down in New Orleans," The Princess & the Frog
• "Fly Farm Blues," It Might Get Loud
• "Forget Me," I Love You, Beth Cooper
• "God Bless Us, Everyone," Disney's A Christmas Carol
• "Here," Shrink
• "Hideaway," Where the Wild Things Are
• "Hoedown Throwdown," Hannah Montana: The Movie
• "I Bring What I Love," Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
• "I See You," Avatar
• "(I Want to) Come Home," Everybody's Fine
• "If Your Wondering," The Lightkeepers
• "Impossible Fantasy," Adventures of Power
• "Innocent Child," Skin
• "Invictus: 9,000 Days," Invictus
• "Legendary," Tyson
• "Let Freedom Reign," Skin
• "Loin de Paname," Paris 36
• "Ma Belle Evangeline," The Princess & the Frog
• "My One & Only," My One & Only
• "Na Na," Couples Retreat
• "Never Knew I Needed," The Princess & the Frog
• "New Divide," Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• "New Jersey Nights," Adventures of Power
• "New York is Where I Live," Did You Hear About the Morgans?
• "No Time for Love," Simon & Malou
• "One Day," Post Grad
• "Only You," The Young Victoria
• "Other Father Song," Coraline
• "Petey's Song," Fantastic Mr. Fox
• "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Ponyo
• "Possibility," The Twilight Saga: New Moon
• "Raining Sunshine," Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• "Running Out of Empty," Lymelife
• "Smoke Without Fire," An Education
• "Somebody Else," Crazy Heart
• "Stu's Song," The Hangover
• "Take it All," Nine
• "Through the Trees," Jennifer's Body
• "Trust Me," The Informant!
• "Un Bouquet des Violettes," New York, I Love You
• "We Are the Children of the World," The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• "We Love Violence," The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• "The Weary Wind," Crazy Heart
• "When You Find Me," Adam
• "Winter," Brothers
• "The Word is Love," Oy Vey! My Son is Gay
• "You Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger," An Education
• "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home," Hannah Montana: The Movie
• "You've Been a Friend to Me," Old Dogs

There you've got it-- some U2 ("Winter" from Brothers), some Duffy (An Education), Karen O. (Where the Wild Things Are), and some Miley Cyrus. That was exhausting. What are your favorites?

My predictions:

"All is Love," Where the Wild Things Are
"Cinema Italiano," Nine
"Down in New Orleans," The Princess & the Frog
"Take it All," Nine
"The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

African American Film Critics Assocation

BEST PICTURE
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

Top Ten of 2009

1. Precious
2. The Princess & the Frog
3. Up in the Air
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Michael Jackson's This is It
6. American Violet
7. Goodbye Solo
8. Medicine for Melancholy
9. Good Hair
10. Up

DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels, Precious
ACTOR: Morgan Freeman, Invictus
ACTRESS: Nicole Beharie, American Violet
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: (tie) Precious; The Princess & the Frog

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT: Michael Jackson's This is It

Dallas Ft. Worth Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
Up in the Air

Top Ten of 2009

1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Precious
4. Up
5. An Education
6. A Serious Man
7. Inglourious Basterds
8. District 9
9. Avatar
10. Fantastic Mr. Fox

DIRECTOR: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air
ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
ANIMATED FEATURE: Up
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove
FOREIGN FILM: Sin Nombre
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Lovely Bones- Andrew Lesnie

Toronto Film Critics Associaton

PICTURE: (tie) Hunger; Inglourious Basterds
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
ACTOR: Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
SCREENPLAY: (tie) Inglourious Basterds; Up in the Air
FIRST FEATURE: Hunger- Steve McQueen
ANIMATED FEATURE: Fantastic Mr. Fox
FOREIGN FILM: The White Ribbon
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove

Thank God for the TFCA and they're offbeat choices almost always. Instead of getting all The Hurt Locker or Up in the Air they give their top prize to a tiny British piece about the IRA and starving. I applaud, like last year when they awarded the tiny American film Wendy and Lucy.

Austin Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker

Top Ten of 2009

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Star Trek
3. Up
4. A Serious Man
5. Up in the Air
6. Avatar
7. Inglourious Basterds
8. District 9
9. Where the Wild Things Are
10. (tie) Moon; The Messenger
    

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, A Single Man

BEST ACTRESS
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Sin Nombre

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil! The Story of Anvil!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Hurt Locker- Barry Ackroyd

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Up- Michael Giacchino

BEST FIRST FEATURE
District 9- Neil Blomkamp

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Christian McKay, Me & Orson Welles

AUSTIN FILM AWARD
Me & Orson Welles (director Richard Linklater is an Austin native)

Top Ten of the Decade

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. The Dark Knight
5. Requiem For a Dream
6. Kill Bill
7. No Country for Old Men
8. The Incredibles
9. Children of Men
10. (tie) Memento; The Departed
    

Top Ten

PETER TRAVERS (Rolling Stone)

1. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
2. Up in the Air
3. The Hurt Locker
4. An Education
5. Up
6. Where the Wild Things Are
7. A Serious Man
8. District 9
9. (500) Days of Summer
10. The Messenger

I always tend to ignore Peter Travers because he seems to come across as the biggest quote whore in film criticism and his lists generally seem desperate to match the Oscars, rather than personal favorites, but I like this list, and while the awards contenders are there for sure, there seems to a bit of an idiosyncratic mind at work here with Where the Wild Things Are and District 9, two films with no real legitimate shot at any big awards, and with The Messenger, while critically beloved, really who's seen it or heard of it for that matter-- it's box office gross is at a meager $500,000 currently.

Travers' also provided a ten best of the decade:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Children of Men
3. Mulholland Drive
4. A History of Violence
5. No Country for Old Men
6. The Incredibles
7. Brokeback Mountain
8. The Departed
9. Mystic River
10. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
    

Inception

The poster has been unveiled for Christopher Nolan's follow-up to The Dark Knight. A sci-fi film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Ellen Page. (drool)

San Diego Film Critics Society

PICTURE: Inglourious Basterds
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
ACTOR: Colin Firth, A Single Man
ACTRESS: Michelle Monaghan, Trucker
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Samantha Morton, The Messenger
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY- Inglourious Basterds
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Fantastic Mr. Fox
FOREIGN FILM: Il Divo
DOCUMENTARY: The Cove
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Road
FILM EDITING: (500) Days of Summer
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Inglourious Basterds
SCORE: A Single Man
ENSEMBLE: Inglourious Basterds
BODY OF WORK: Woody Harrelson, The Messenger, Zombieland, 2012

Golden Globe Nominations

BEST PICTURE (Drama)

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious
• Up in the Air

Oddly the Globes picked only five this year, usually it's six or eight, and this are fine, if expected choices. Good news for Avatar and Inglourious, both are probable looking strong... Precious rebounds with this and the BFCA nominations, as expected. Notably missing The Last Station, Bright Star, An Education, The Lovely Bones, A Serious Man, Invictus...which ones will come back for Oscar. I was hoping for an out of left field shocker like District 9, but that's just my movie love distracting me from award watching....sad!

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)

• (500) Days of Summer
• The Hangover
• It's Complicated
• Julie & Julia
• Nine

Predictable list, lacking some of the crazy mentions the Globes tend to go here-- I knew Nine would get in, even if was lousy (early word is mixed\bad)-- they love musicals, the Weinsteins, and stars. Snubbed: not much really, but Up, Adventureland, Fantastic Mr. Fox, or Coraline, or even Whip It, easily one of the most enjoyable films of the year-- they've done a lot worse than it before, would have made me happy. I'm gunning for (500) Days of Summer, because, well it's the best.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron, Avatar
• Clint Eastwood, Invictus
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Fairly symmetrical for Globes tastes really, only Clint is the odd man\non best picture nominee...I love that Bigelow and ex-husband Cameron are duking it out for real. Probable Oscar list, with Bigelow and Reitman in the lead for now.

BEST ACTOR (Drama)

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Tobey Maguire, Brothers

This is why I love this silly group-- the out of nowhere big star love. 4 of these guys will be in it for Oscar, guess who's out-- well the ex-webslinger in the critically panned war film....dumbness right here. Notably absent, and rightfully angry: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Viggo Mortensen (The Road), Sam Rockwell (Moon), and Sharlto Copley (District 9), all right I know that last one wasn't going to happen, but he was awesome in it, again movie love over award logic.

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)

• Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Fairly boring category, which should yield an easy win for Mulligan...odd the HFPA didn't go for An Education besides her (I guess we shared the same problem with the film.) Is the world ready for Sandra Bullock Oscar nominee, it's pretty likely now, I'd say (man I hated that movie.) Snubbed: Abbie Cornish (for Bright Star), Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), Saorsie Ronan (The Lovely Bones), Tilda Swinton (Julia), and thankfully Hilary Swank (for Amelia.)

BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)

• Matt Damon, The Informant!
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
• Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes
  
• Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
• Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Should be an easy win for Levitt, because he's the best one up there, but it will probably go to Day-Lewis or Damon. Fairly solid combo, I like the inclusion of Stuhlberg in the under appreciated A Serious Man, a film that grows on me the more distance I've given it.

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)

• Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
• Marion Cotillard, Nine
• Julia Roberts, Duplicity
• Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

I get it, Meryl had another good year, but will she cancel herself off by the double nomination, giving the award to another gal with a good year (Bullock.) Category fraud alert: Cotillard is supposedly supporting in Nine, oh them and their misguided musical love. Roberts here for a movie that's almost a year old that no one remembers-- they're star loving again (the Globes are a bit like People Magazine sometimes.) Notably snubbed: Michelle Pfieffer (for Cheri), another big star in a better film, and Zooey Deshannel (for (500) Days of Summer), that would have been awesome. Also Ellen Page for Whip It, even cooler.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Odd little category-- likely an easy win for Waltz, but I'd prefer a surprise for Harrelson, who's great in The Messenger. Snubbed: Alfred Molina (An Education) and Christian McKay (Me & Orson Welles.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Mo'Nique, Precious
• Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Likely Oscar line-up here-- looks like them Up girls will both make it the long haul, which is cool with me, they're both terrific. I need to see A Single Man really badly, but Moore has long been one of my favorites, always glad to see her included here, but really it's all about Mo'Nique in this category-- I doubt very seriously even her on-record "difficulty" will hurt her chances; the performance already seems like the stuff of movie legend. Snubbed: Mariah Carey for Precious, odd sort of since the Globes love stars and have been kind to music\actress types before (Beyonce, Madonna, etc.), and Samantha Morton, wrongly snubbed for The Messenger.

BEST SCREENPLAY

• District 9- Neil Blomkamp & Terri Thatchell
• The Hurt Locker- Mark Boal
• Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino
• It's Complicated- Nancy Meyers
• Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

They give (awesome District 9 mention) and they take it back (It's Complicated ridiculous citation.) Nothing against the remaining three, but that one hurts by throwing away a nomination to a deserving film that could benefit it greatly, and tossing it off to a silly romantic comedy\older lady porn...boo. You could have surprised us with something awesome: (500) Days of Summer, The Messenger, Where the Wild Things Are, Up, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Precious...the list goes on...

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess & the Frog
• Up

Fine list, fine list...I've been on an animation high all year, one caveat please since I'm sure this will be the eventual Oscar lineup-- let's replace Meatballs with Ponyo, just think about it-- it could be the most deliciously geeky, amazing category ever, with mad movie geek love spread to all spectors of the animated community-- anime, Pixar, Wes Anderson, Henry Selick, and old school Disney-- just think about AMPAS...it might top your 10 best picture list.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• Baaria
• Broken Embraces
• The Maid
• A Prophet
• The White Ribbon

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Avatar- James Horner
• The Informant!- Marvin Hamlisch
• A Single Man- Abel Korzeniowski
• Up- Michael Giacchino
• Where the Wild Things Are- Carter Burwell & Karen O

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• "I See You," Avatar
  
• "Winter," Brothers
  
• "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
• "(I Want To) Come Home," Everybody's Fine
• "Cinema Italiano," Nine
  

Broadcast Film Critics Assocation Nominations

BEST PICTURE

• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR

• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron, Avatar
• Lee Daniels, Precious
• Clint Eastwood, Invictus
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTOR

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
  
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Viggo Mortensen, The Road
  
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS

• Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Saorise Ronan, The Lovely Bones
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christian McKay, Me & Orson Welles
• Alfred Molina, An Education
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Marion Cotillard, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Mo'Nique, Precious
• Julianne Moore, A Single Man
• Samantha Morton, The Messenger

BEST ENSEMBLE

• Inglorious Basterds
• Nine
• Precious
• Star Trek
• Up in the Air

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• (500) Days of Summer- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
• The Hurt Locker- Mark Boal
• Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino
• A Serious Man- Ethan Coel & Joel Coen
• Up- Bob Peterson & Pete Doctor

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• District 9- Niel Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
• An Education- Nick Hornby
• Fantastic Mr. Fox- Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach
• Precious- Geoffrey Fletcher
• A Single Man- Tom Ford & David Scearce
• Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Avatar- Mauro Fiore
  
• The Hurt Locker- Barry Ackroyd
• Inglourious Basterds- Ralph Richardson
  
• The Lovely Bones- Andrew Lesnie
  
• Nine- Dion Beebe

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Avatar- Rick Carter & Robert Stronberg
• Inglourious Basterds- David Wasco & Sandy Reynolds Wasco
  
• The Lovely Bones- Naomi Stoham & George De Titta
  
• Nine- John Myhre & Gordon Sim
  
• A Single Man- Dan Bishop

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Bright Star- Janet Patterson
• Inglourious Basterds- Anna Shepherd
  
• Nine- Colleen Atwood
• Where the Wild Things Are- Casey Storm
  
• The Young Victoria- Sandy Powell

BEST FILM EDITING

• Avatar- Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua & James Cameron
• The Hurt Locker- Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
  
• Inglourious Basterds- Sally Menke
• Nine- Claire Simpson & Wyatt Smith
• Up in the Air- Dana E. Glauberman

BEST MAKE-UP

• Avatar
• District 9
• Nine
• The Road
• Star Trek

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• 2012
• Avatar
• District 9
• The Lovely Bones
• Star Trek

BEST SOUND

• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Nine
• Star Trek

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess & the Frog
• Up

BEST ACTION MOVIE

• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek

BEST COMEDY

• (500) Days of Summer
• The Hangover
• It's Complicated
• The Proposal
• Zombieland

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• Broken Embraces
• Coco Before Chanel
• Red Cliff
• Sin Nombre
  
• The White Ribbon

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Anvil! The Story of Anvil
• Capitalism: A Love Story
  
• The Cove
• Food, Inc.
• Michael Jackson's This is It

BEST SONG

• "All is Love," Where the Wild Things Are
• "Almost There," The Princess & the Frog
• "Cinema Italiano," Nine
• "(I Want to) Come Home," Everybody's Fine
• "The Weary Wind," Crazy Heart

BEST SCORE

• The Informant!- Marvin Hamlisch
• The Princess & the Frog- Randy Newman
• Sherlock Holmes- Hans Zimmer
• Where the Wild Things Are- Carter Burwell & Karen O
• Up- Michael Giacchino

BEST YOUTH ACTOR

• Jae Head, The Blind Side
• Bailee Madison, Brothers
• Max Records, Where the Wild Things Are
• Saorise Ronan, The Lovely Bones
• Kodhi Smit McPhee, The Road
  

New York Film Critics Circle

PICTURE: The Hurt Locker
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
ACTOR: George Clooney, Up in the Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox
ACTRESS: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, Precious
SCREENPLAY: In the Loop
ANIMATED FEATURE: Fantastic Mr. Fox
DOCUMENTARY: Of Time & the City
FOREIGN FILM: Summer Hours
BEST FIRST FILM: Hunger- Steve McQueen
CINEMATOGRAPHY: The White Ribbon- Christian Berger

Indiana Film Critics Circle

BEST PICTURE
Up in the Air
runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

BEST DIRECTOR
Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
runner-up: Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Up in the Air
runner-up: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, An Education
runner-up: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
runner-up: Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia and The Lovely Bones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious
runner-up: Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

BEST SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
runner-up: Where the Wild Things Are- Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers

ORIGINAL VISION AWARD
Where the Wild Things Are
runner-up: District 9

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Sin Nombre
runner-up: Welcome

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Fantastic Mr. Fox
runner-up: Up

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove
runner-up: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

I love the Where the Wild Things Are acknowledgement, but this season is already kinda getting boring...no...yesss!

Southeastern Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
Up in the Air

Top Ten of 2009

1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. A Serious Man
   
6. (500) Days of Summer
7. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
8. The Messenger
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. District 9

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Up in the Air

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Summer Hours

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Food, Inc.

San Francisco Film Critics

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, A Single Man

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian McKay, Me & Orson Welles

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Fantastic Mr. Fox- Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coraline

BEST FOREIGN FILM
You the Living

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil! The Story of Anvil

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
A Serious Man- Roger Deakins

Not much in the way of surprises here-- The Hurt Locker is golden at the moment after it's amazing weekend (LA, Boston, AFI citation), as is Bigelow. My questions marks on terms of the Academy right now are Inglourious Basterds which so far has strong critical support, but still feels like it might not go all the way to the Oscar, because of subject matter (revisionist history\crossed genres) and divisiveness of Tarantino in general (after all both Kill Bills got a combined total of zero nominations, besides critical success and glorious box office. Another question mark is A Serious Man, which seems like a total Oscar-y film that's been somewhat absent from big prizes so far. That and is the momentum for Precious fading-- the critics thus far have been kind to Mo"Nique, but not the film as a whole strangley. Also is Christian McKay a potential nominee-- I kind of think if he scores a Golden Globe nod, he's in, even if Me & Orson Welles doesn't go anywhere critically or commercially-- he's playing Orson Welles for god's sake!

American Film Institute

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2009

• CORALINE
• THE HANGOVER
• THE HURT LOCKER
• THE MESSENGER
• PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
• A SERIOUS MAN
• A SINGLE MAN
• SUGAR
• UP
• UP IN THE AIR
  

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker
runner-up: Up in the Air

I knew it, I knew it!

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
runner-up: Michael Hanake, The White Ribbon

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
runner-up: Colin Firth, A Single Man

BEST ACTRESS
Yolande Moreau, Seraphine
runner-up: Carey Mulligan, An Education

The LAFCA always seems to make funny choices here (thinking back to 2005 when Vera Farmiga won for Down by the Bone.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
runner-up: Peter Capaldi, In the Loop

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
runner-up: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

BEST SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
runner-up: In the Loop

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Fantastic Mr. Fox
runner-up: Up

BEST DOCUMENTARY (tie)
The Beaches of Agnes The Cover

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Summer Hours
runner-up: The White Ribbon

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The White Ribbon- Christian Berger
runner-up: The Hurt Locker- Barry Ackroyd

BEST SCORE
Crazy Heart- T. Bone Burnett & Stephen Bruton
runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox- Alexandre Desplat

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
District 9
runner-up: Avatar

New York Film Critics Online

BEST PICTURE
Avatar

Top Ten of 2009 (in alphabetical order)

• Adventureland
• Avatar
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Messenger
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Two Lovers
• Up
• Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

BEST SCREENPLAY
Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino

BEST ENSEMBLE
In the Loop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The White Ribbon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inglourious Basterds- Ralph Richardson

BEST FILM MUSIC
Crazy Heart

BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Marc Webb, (500) Days of Summer

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Interesting that James Cameron's latest opus wins the top prize, will his ex-wife (Kathryn Bigelow) wins direction-- if there's a ceremony for this one, that would make some nice awkward drama (I love it!) If they're both at the Oscars, they should be sitting next to each other.